Blue devils unable to recover from turnovers, fall 19-14 to Pointers

MENOMONIE (November 16, 2013) - Adolfo Pacheco's (Fr, South Elgin, Ill.) fourth consecutive hundred-yard game wasn't enough to pull the Blue Devils to victory, as they fell 19-14 to UW-Stevens Point on a rainy afternoon on Senior Day at Don and Nona Williams Stadium.

On a day where both teams had trouble holding onto the football, Pacheco rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. His touchdown came late in the fourth quarter and pulled Stout within five points, as he faked out several defenders before carrying multiple Pointers across the goal line for his 9th score of the year. Pacheco ends the year just shy of 1,000 rushing yards, as he totaled 965 yards for the season. Over the last four games, he has averaged 150 rushing yards per game.

Turnovers were the real story of the game though, especially early on. In a wacky first quarter, each team lost a fumble, the Pointers intercepted Hank Kujak (Jr, Blair) twice and Luke Bakkum (Jr, Oconomowoc) had an interception for Stout, for a total of five turnovers before the game was even 15 minutes old.

For the game, both teams combined to turn the ball over nine times - six (4 interceptions, 2 fumbles) for Stout, three (2,1) for the Pointers - as the constant rain made playing conditions less than ideal.

The Blue Devils (4-6, 2-5 WIAC) fell behind early on a 44-yard touchdown play off of a halfback option pass from Cody Nuernberg to Luke Neubauer that gave the Pointers (5-5, 3-4 WIAC) a 7-0 lead.

Stout was able to answer back with a David Goebel (Sr, Minnetonka, Minn.) touchdown run from a yard out early in the second quarter to tie things up.

Goebel, a four-year starter for Stout, has primarily played defensive end this year after playing fullback his first three seasons. In his final game as a Blue Devil, he was major factor on both sides of the ball, recording six tackles, including 2.5 for loss and a sack to go with his touchdown. He also shined on specials teams, blocking a field goal in the first quarter to keep the Blue Devils within one score.

A Jesse Vervelde field goal in the second, his first of four, put Stevens Point up 10-7. He would tack on three more in the second half, pushing the Pointers to a 19-7 lead before Pacheco's touchdown with 2:34 remaining brought Stout within five.

Stout was unable to stop Stevens Point quarterback Mitch Beau on a QB sneak on fourth-and-one, giving up a first down with 1:49 to go. After the Blue Devils forced a turnover on downs with one second remaining in the game, Kujak was sacked trying to toss up a Hail Mary to end the game.

Kujak finished the day 13-28 for 146 yards. Trevor Morning (Sr, Bloomer) was the Blue Devil's leading receiver with four catches for 53 yards. Cody Rosemeyer (Jr, Gilman) added three grabs for 42 yards.

Defensively, Bakkum led the way for Stout with 12 total tackles, including two for loss to go along with his interception. Jake Schiff (Sr, South Range) also had an interception for the Blue Devils and Jamie Rohrig (Jr, Owatonna, Minn.) had a fumble recovery.